Chapter 27: Has She Taken a Liking to Lin Qianze?

“Boss, I’ve brought you the little weakling.”
Di Yunshen turned around to see the bodyguard holding a small tiger in his arms. Before he could say anything, Su Qingli hurried over.

“It’s mine, it’s mine! I wanted it!”
“Why did you bring it here? What’s its name?”
“It gets bored at home by itself! So I brought it out with me. You weren’t home these past few days, so I named it—‘Little Weakling.’ How about it? Sounds nice, right?”

Little Weakling? A tiger? Weakling? Chicken?

“You think it’s really that weak?”

“Of course! It’s useless—falls over with a touch, legs up in the air, can’t do anything right.”

Di Yunshen simply gave a dry laugh. “Let’s see if you’ll still think the same six months from now.”

“Hmph, what do you know? I’m off! I see food over there!”

Like a greased shadow, Su Qingli darted away, her half-mask not slowing her eating and drinking at all. She nibbled the tip of a strawberry while Little Weakling got the leafy end.

Di Yunshen silently adjusted her mask, then reminded her, “Keep your mask on properly. The Di family’s bodyguards are following you in secret—don’t reveal yourself.”

Shen Ci kept glancing around. “Exactly! No one can know the lady is from the Di family, or things could get... troublesome.”

Su Qingli turned back, stuffing a piece of salmon into her mouth. “What are you two muttering about? Are you embarrassed by me? If you think I’m making a fool of myself, just say it!”

Shen Ci wanted to defend himself, but Di Yunshen nudged him. Only then did Shen Ci notice Su Qingli’s little hand was constantly reaching for more food.

“Still trying to dodge me? Special assistant, why aren’t you giving me more excuses?”

Shen Ci grew even more uneasy. “Boss, I’ll... just go over there for a bit.” With that, he slipped away.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you blind? An apology? You think that’s enough? I bet you’ve got your eye on Qianzao! That’s why you’re sticking around!”

“Qianzao, I think this woman’s just trying to get close to you!”

A commotion came from around the corner ahead. Di Yunshen knew his little troublemaker would go join the fray.

Sure enough, Su Qingli wiped her mouth and squeezed into the crowd, with Di Yunshen close behind.

“They’re all wearing masks, how can you tell who’s who?”

“No worries! If I can’t see, I can figure it out!” Her little hand kept reaching for more food.

“Oh, that one’s Qiao Ke, that one’s Lin Qianzao, and the girl across is... Gu Zixi? Never met her.”

Di Yunshen had already guessed—Grand Elder had hinted to him before. Sure enough, his little troublemaker was fated to meet her.

“Miss, you seem very confident in your man?”

Qiao Ke lifted her chin arrogantly. “Of course! I’ve seen plenty of women like you—climbing up using nothing but cheap tricks! That dress you're wearing, probably got it by pleasing some man, right? And now you want to latch onto Qianzao? Ha! Let me tell you, that’s never going to happen!”

Gu Zixi let out a few soft laughs. Just as she was about to reply, Su Qingli popped out of the crowd.

“Only people like you, who use dirty tricks to get ahead, would think everyone else is just like you. As far as I know, the Lin family isn’t wealthy. The Qiao family is even less impressive. I bet anyone else here has a stronger background than your families.”

“You know us? Who are you?”

“No need to ask. You said that’s Lin Qianzao, so besides Qiao Ke, who else could you be? Who in the capital hasn’t heard that the Lin family heir brought home a troublemaker?”

“You! Who do you think you are? Who gave you the nerve to talk to me like that? I swear I’ll break your legs today!”

Qiao Ke was bristling with anger, but Lin Qianzao beside her remained calm. He had no interest in such matters, nor any wish to defend Qiao Ke.

How could he have feelings for Qiao Ke? They got together for fun at first; now it was only for the sake of their families.

Gu Zixi calmly removed her mask in public. “Then let’s see how you plan to break our legs today.”

Gu Zixi had a regal, commanding beauty, and in that black, slitted dress she captivated countless men in the room.

Qiao Ke, being a woman herself, couldn’t help but feel uneasy seeing someone like her standing right in front of her. Especially since she believed Gu Zixi was trying to seduce Lin Qianzao, her confidence faltered and a touch of jealousy flared within her.

“You two! Grab those women and hold them down!”

Just then, someone nearby exclaimed, “Wow! Isn’t that the eldest daughter of the Gu family, Gu Zixi?”

“Who?”

“Oh, from the Yu Prefecture Gu family!”

“For real?”

“Why would I lie to you?”

“It really is Miss Gu! Miss Gu, do you remember me? We had dinner together once. So... did this Qiao family brat offend you? Want me to handle it for you?”

Gu Zixi raised her hand slightly, and the man instantly understood, quietly slipping away to the side.

Now, Qiao Ke realized something was wrong, even a hint of panic rising in her heart.

“Who... who are you really?”

“They just told you. Why aren’t you making a move? Are you scared?”

Qiao Ke wasn’t stupid, but wanting to save face she pointed at Su Qingli. “Grab her for me, throw her out!”

A chilly smile played at Gu Zixi’s lips. “Go ahead—just try. If anyone so much as touches her today, I’ll let you experience what it’s like to have your leg bones broken eight times.”

Anyone else might have thought she was bluffing, but this was Gu Zixi... and that was another matter entirely.

Qiao Ke didn’t dare anymore. She looked pleadingly at Lin Qianzao, but he remained indifferent.

“If you won’t act, then my people will. Take Miss Qiao and put her at the door as a greeter for the night.”

Now that was a real humiliation! With tonight’s crowd, anyone remotely decent-looking was bound to get pawed a few times... Who knew how Qiao Ke would fare by the end of the night?